Minutes after the much-awaited Rafale jets
made a landing at Ambala airbase, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in a series of tweets, made
clarifications regarding the procurement of the jets with a curt message for critics.

The Defence Minister said that the jets, bought for Rs 59,000 crores, were
purchased only after they met the requirements of the Indian Air Force.

Taking to Twitter, Rajnath Singh said, “The Rafale jets were purchased when they fully met the
operational requirements of the IAF. The baseless allegations against this
procurement have already been answered and settled”.

He further said, “I
would like to add, if it is anyone who should be worried about or critical
about this new capability of the Indian Air Force, it should be those who want
to threaten our territorial integrity”.

He
said that the Rafale jets were purchased only because PM Modi took the right
decision to get these aircrafts through an Inter-Governmental Agreement with
France, after the long pending procurement case for them could not progress.

The deal between India and France became the
most controversial political issue with the Narendra Modi-led NDA government
under constant attack from the Opposition. Congress Party led by Rahul Gandhi
attacked the Narendra Modi government alleging that the deal favoured big
business houses in the country. In 2019, the Supreme Court rejected petitions
seeking a review of decision in 2018 that gave a clean chit to the Centre in
fighter jet deal with French firm Dassault Aviation.

“This aircraft has
very good flying performance and its weapons, radar and other sensors and
Electronic Warfare capabilities are amongst the best in the world. Its arrival
in India will make the IAF much stronger to deter any threat that may be posed
on our country,” Rajnath added.